NOTE: See update below
It's become increasingly rare for the BBFC (British Board Of Film Classification) to decide to ban a film, but that's what's happened today with the Japanese movie Grotesque. Although the reasons behind the BBFC's decision weren't immediately available, if consistent with previous recent rejections it's because of sustained sexual violence, which meant there was no point in them asking for cuts to be made (which is what normally happens), and so they've banned it outright.
The press release for the DVD, which was due out on September 21st, certainly makes the case for it being an extreme movie, saying "Billed as 'the cruellest Japanese splatter movie ever' (a statement that doesn't do the film's graphic scenes of torture and dismemberment anywhere near enough justice), Grotesque is a survival horror movie that makes the likes of Saw and Hostel look like Mary Poppins in comparison.
"A girl, Aki (Tsugumi Nagasawa), and her new boyfriend, Kazuo (Hiroaki Kawatsure), are mugged, knocked unconscious and kidnapped by an unknown assailant. They wake up to find themselves bound and gagged in a torture chamber-style basement at the mercy of a man armed with a mind-boggling array of kitchen implements and power tools whose only pleasure is gained from the suffering of others. So begins a slow and sustained assault during which the couple is gradually hacked, mutilated and degraded to the point where death becomes a more desirable option to living. Or is it? When one captive is offered the chance to die in order to save the life of the other, the question of how far one would go for a loved one is answered in the most unpleasant of ways."
Sounds delightful, doesn't it? A call to the representative of the film's distributor, 4Digital Asia, revealed that the company is still trying to work out exactly why the BBFC rejected the film (they'd only just found out themselves). At the moment they're unsure of how they're going to move forward with the film, although releasing it for download (which isn't covered by the BBFC) is a possibility. They expect to make a decision on the future of the movie in the next few days.
Nowadays it's nearly always sustained sexual violent that causes the BBFC to bring out the Rejected stamp, as this is what public consultations have suggested people are most concerned about in movies rated 18. All the movies rejected in the last couple of years have been because of sexual violence, such as this April with NF713, as well as last year with The Texas Vibrator Massacre and Murder Set Pieces, and, apparently, now with Grotesque. However in the last few years rejecting films has become increasingly rare. with only one or two films rejected each year, down from a high of seven in 2005 (and back then most banned movies were porn films).
UPDATE: We've now received the official response from 4Digital Asia, which states: The decision to ban the film was taken by BBFC director David Cooke and senior colleagues who claimed, "Unlike other recent ‘torture’ themed horror works, such as the ‘Saw’ and ‘Hostel’ series, ‘Grotesque’ features minimal narrative or character development and presents the audience with little more than an unrelenting and escalating scenario of humiliation, brutality and sadism. In spite of a vestigial attempt to ‘explain’ the killer’s motivations at the very end of the film, the chief pleasure on offer in not related to understanding the motivations of any of the central characters. Rather, the chief pleasure on offer seems to be wallowing in the spectacle of sadism (including sexual sadism) for its own sake.”...
A spokesperson for 4Digital Asia expressed surprise at the outright rejection of the Grotesque, stating, “We knew that the BBFC was debating the content of the film quite intensely but we had expected to receive from the BBFC a list of recommended cuts enabling the film to be passed with an 18 certificate. We are now considering whether or not to appeal against the Board’s decision.”